Protected bike lanes are seven times more effective than painted ones. A 2015 survey of adults in the 50 largest U.S. metro areas found that adding a conventional painted bike lane to a four-lane commercial street increases the number of people who feel very comfortable" biking there from 9 percent to 12 percent. Adding a protected bike lane boosts this to 29 percent. The reported comfort difference between a protected and conventional bike lane is about the same as the difference between a protected bike lane and an off-street path."